Crossdresser
by osjojm
Summary: Claire is one of Ponyboy's 'school friends', and while Ponyboy has other friends, she has none. To be technical, "Claire" doesn't but "Chad" does.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. **

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"Hi Ponyboy." Claire pulled a chair out and sat next to him.

Ponyboy looked up. "Hey Claire."

"Did you finish your math homework?" She asked, rummaging in her bag. She brought out a huge green binder, the case an oval shape from the amount of paper stuffed into it. Paper stuck out haphazardly.

Then as an after thought, she brought out her pencil case.

"Yeah, but it ain't easy."

"I know, I couldn't get question 30. Exponents always make me mess up."

"You ain't a woofin."

Claire grinned. Talking to Ponyboy was always interesting, even when they exchanged conversations about school work. He used greaser slang and it made her feel cooler talking to him.

The teacher rapped her ruler against the table. "It's time to start. Open your textbooks to page 237 and solve questions 1-29. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to come ask me."

Silence greeted her. The teacher huffed in annoyance and walked back to her desk, pulling out a book to read.

Ponyboy and Claire snorted, as did half of the class. The teacher, Ms. Halpany, was a liar. One of the few sycophantic teachers in the school, she liked to suck up to the Socs to gain special privileges, such as tutoring Socs for a large sum of money. If that wasn't bad enough, she would ignore middle class and greasers on a good day and hand out detentions like candy on a bad day.

The point was, asking Ms. Halpany a question was equal to stabbing yourself in the foot. It was better to try and figure it out yourself or ask one of the upper class men.

Claire, who was middle class, knew this well. Ponyboy, who was a greaser, knew this even better.

A hush fell over the classroom as students bent down and went to work. Claire took out her textbook and flipped to the appropriate page. Then, taking out a pencil from her pencil case, she gently pried a blank sheet of paper from her binder. She read:

1) What is x if 2x^2 + x + 1 = 0 ?

She grimaced. Over the insistence, more like force, of her father, she had solved the questions a week before and was annoyed by the repetitiveness .

"You need to work harder!" Her father's voice echoed in her head.

Rolling her eyes, she went to work.

An hour later, she had finished all her questions and was reading a book on dissection. Animal and human anatomy fascinated her. She loved how the muscles intertwined, worked, and supported each other. A small accident could damage the whole system, like an all or nothing gang. Reverently she turned the pages.

Ten minutes later, she heard rustling of paper next to her. Her eyes quickly flicked from her book to Ponyboy's desk. Ponyboy had finished and was taking out a book of poems by Robert Frost.

Claire remembered Ponyboy's ecstatic explanation about Robert Frost. He had said something about how he didn't understand one of his poems and that he memorized it because he didn't understand it (who does that?). He also went into a ten minute long rant about how great poems were and that he loved exploring the feelings and emotions packed into their complicated literary devices. By the time he was done, she was falling asleep. Ponyboy hadn't been too happy about that.

Time passed as the two sat in a comfortable silence. People around them talked, exchanging ideas about how to solve a problem, or more often, about their lives. The volume in class became louder and louder as more people finished their work.

At eleven forty, the bell rang.

Slowly, Claire put down her book, her eyes fixated on a diagram of the human lung. _So the pulmonary artery carries the deoxygenated blood and dumps it into the capillaries where gas exchange occurs._ She thought hard. _So then what happens when chlorine gas fills the lungs?  
_

In a daze, her hands closed her book, packed up her pencil case and her large binder. When she was done, she realized that Ponyboy was doing the same.

_We're such nerds. _She snickered. Ponyboy looked at her curiously. She waved him away.

Students rushed out the door. She and Ponyboy took their time. They walked each other to the classroom door, the last ones to leave.

"Bye Ponyboy. I'll see you at history class, last period." Claire said, waving her hand.

Ponyboy nodded at her. "See you."

Claire left for the lunch room. Students rushed by her, traveling in packs, usually separated by their social class and personality. One of the greaser girls in her math class said, "That broad was such a bitch. She can't even teach!" The girl next to her nodded frantically. "Yeah, I think she was a Soc but was so dumb in spending her money that she became middle class." The girl at the end giggled. "Wonder when she's gonna become a greaser? We'll teach her then!" They laughed.

Not for the first time, Claire wished Ponyboy was her friend. If he were, she could complain and listen about the latest teachers and rumors with him. She would also stop standing out as the hobo who didn't have any friends.

There were two reasons why she didn't have any:

1) She didn't dress like a girl.

She didn't care enough to spend time and money on priming her hair, putting on makeup, and selecting the 'perfect clothes' to wear each day. She had more important things to work on, like reading or playing sports. And the fact that the only parent she had didn't care either didn't help much.

2) Her father was a police officer

This was the prime reason she couldn't afford to make friends. Most of the people in school were in gangs. If they knew about her relation with a police officer… She would be alienated even more than now, not to mention the assault that would follow. She was a girl, but some of these guys didn't care.

So she loned it.

She bought her lunch and sat at the far corner, watching and listening as she ate her lunch.

"Did you see that broad, Nicole? She was hanging off my ex-boyfriend." Alice, one of the more popular and rich Socy girls, tossed her blonde curled hair. She was sitting at a table across from Claire and sitting on her newest boyfriend Scott.

Claire mused, _Wonder how long he'll last. A week?_

"Really? Gosh, she's such a slut!" The girl with brown, silky hair said in a high pitched voice and giggled.

_As if you're not. _

Sometimes, Claire didn't understand why Socy girls liked to shame other Socy girls. They all acted the same. Insulting them was like insulting yourself. Her number one theory was that they felt superior by doing so and this was how they gained power in their small groups.

Alice smiled at the brunette, pleased at the reaction that she invoked. "Lisa, do you want to come with me and go shopping today? The dress I bought last week isn't in style anymore and I want a new one."

The brunette became ecstatic. "Sure!"

The girls in Alice's group subtly glared at Lisa. They knew that Lisa had been singled out, and if they weren't careful, Lisa would become Alice's newest 'best friend.'

Claire rolled her eyes at their antics. Compared to greaser girls who smoked and put on too much make up, their troubles were so trivial. But this was one of the reasons why she liked to sit near Socy girls, she could laugh at their empty words.

Claire finished up her lunch and subtly moved out of her seat. Eyes downcast, trying not to catch anyone's attention or trip over the occasional foot, she speed walked to the cafeteria door.

No such luck.

Alice, at that moment, chose to turn around. "Claire, the middle class greaser." Alice mocked and stood up, blocking Claire's way.

Inwardly, Claire smirked. It was funny that Alice thought being a greaser was an insult when in reality, being a Soc was. She said nothing.

Alice ran her eyes critically over Claire's appearance. "You look like you didn't shower for a month. Look at that grease in her hair girls! Isn't it disgusting? Not to mention what she wears. Did you pick your clothes off the ground in East side?"

The girls in Alice's group laughed mockingly.

Claire felt a little offended. Although she looked like crap, (yes she knew that she was a slob) she had good hygiene. Besides, she'd checked in the mirror, her hair didn't have any grease on it. It was clean!

Lisa, who was still on cloud nine said, "We should clean her hair!"

Alice glanced at Lisa and smirked.

_Not again!_ She still had class and if they did what she thought they would do, she couldn't enter class like that. She wished her father would let her soc Alice a good one. She knew she packed a good punch and could probably take on Alice's boyfriend and possibly his friend. But if she did so and her father heard about it… he would rip her a new one, mentally and physically.

"Scott," Alice said sweetly, "could you hold her steady while I wash her hair?"

Scott obliged. He stood up and walked over behind Claire, grasping her shoulders but avoiding contact with her body and his.

_Come on, I'm not that bad. _

Alice grasped a milk carton from her tray. A vicious smile pasted on her face, Alice slowly poured the contents over Claire's head. The slow stream flowed down into Claire's shirt, pants, and socks. It felt as if she was bathing in acid water, burning her skin.

The cafeteria fell silent. Then Socs near Alice laughed, jeering at Claire.

"I think you're clean now!" Lisa said giggling.

Claire's stomach felt like magma, boiling and bubbling, ready to erupt.

Scott let go of Claire and walked over to Alice's side, smirking as well. "You can leave, but remember to wash your hair next time so that we don't have to!" Alice said, waving Claire goodbye.

A red haze filled Claire's vision as she walked out of the cafeteria. _Those hags from hell!_ _One day, I'll finish them. And when I do, I will show no mercy._ So angry, Claire didn't think about where she was heading, instead she let her feet carry her, far and far away from the cafeteria.

Smack!

She face planted into something hard.

_What the? Is this a greaser car? _Claire swore. If this was a greaser car, it meant she was in a greaser hangout, and this meant…

"Claire?" Ponyboy's bewildered voice greeted her ears.

Claire swore profusely, even outdoing herself - in her head. She flipped her wet hair so that it didn't cover her eyes anymore and gave a cursory glance at the hangout. Ponyboy was sitting on the car she'd bumped into, along with the famous Two-bit Matthews. There was also Evie, who had her hand around a boy with hair in complicated curls. The couple looked annoyed.

_I probably interrupted their make out session. _

"Claire?" Ponyboy questioned again, worry tinging his tone this time.

_Why oh why is Ponyboy here? _"Hi Ponyboy!" Claire said brightly. "Sorry if I barged into you guys. I wasn't looking at where I was going. So… I'll be going now."

Two-bit cocked an eyebrow.

"What happened?" Ponyboy asked.

"Er… I took a shower with my clothes on?" Mentally, Claire banged her head against the wall.

Ponyboy, Two-bit, Evie and her boyfriend exchanged disbelieving looks.

Claire backtracked quickly, moving away from the greaser hangout, and moving away from school. She needed to leave. Now. She turned to run but her wet hair flapped in front of her face, obscuring her vision. She didn't care.

"Bye!" She shouted, her legs tensing. Her feet pushed off the ground and before she could take two steps…

She slammed into a body.

_Is it bad luck day today?_ Tired, wet, angry, embarrassed, and annoyed, Claire's emotion bled out faster than blood from a cut jugular vein. "Watch where you're going!" She snapped, flipping her hair back to glare at the stranger.

Her vision filled with cold blue eyes. Although the man's face was covered with wispy whitish blonde hair, his laser eyes bore into hers. Claire's glare withered. Despondently, she thought, _He's going to kill me!_

"Shit." a voice behind Claire muttered.

"Watch where you're going, punk!" The man growled. His jaws clenched. Claire was reminded of a lynx, ready to tear its prey apart. She knew what was going to happen next.

"Dally no, don't!" Ponyboy shouted.

The man swung his fist.

Claire didn't think, she reacted. Dodging the fist so that momentum pulled the man forwards, she grabbed his wrist and twisted her body, simultaneously putting her right foot in front of his. She gave a little grunt in effort and heaved. The man flew over her shoulder.

Thump!

The man landed on his back. Then started to cough and heave desperate gasps.

A stunned silence filled the hangout. Claire couldn't believe that the control she built over the years broke. She'd tried so hard not to beat up anyone. Behind her, the Curtis gang couldn't believe what had happened either. Dallas Winston, the tuffest greaser in their gang, lost to a girl half his size. Evie was already thinking of the gossip to tell her girls, especially Sylvia, what had happened.

"I'm really, really sorry." Claire blabbered, breaking the strange trance everyone had entered. "I didn't mean to flip you over and everything, but you tried to punch me and you know, human preservation, I had to defend myself. I don't think I cracked any of your bones, you're just winded, so you'll be fine in a second." She turned to the boys who looked at her, their mouths hanging open. "I really need to go. I need to change and… I'm really sorry for this." She waved her hands to indicate the man she'd thrown.

Claire flipped her wet hair back. She was damned if she were going to bump into anyone else today. "Bye, I guess I'll see you later Ponyboy." She sprinted towards her home, her face burning.

As she ran, she heard the man swearing behind her.

_I hope I never see him again. _

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**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders.**

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Claire liked her house. It was sturdy, clean, and ordinary, not catching any attention but her's and her father's when they needed rest. She only wished that someone would one day change the paint to blue or even beige. The greenish grey kept reminding her of the time she accidentally got drunk and upheaved her entire stomach.

She dumped her bag in the living room and rushed up the stairs and into her room. The milk was starting to become sticky, mixing with her sweat, and it was getting harder for her to ignore it.

Throwing her clothes off, she went into the shower.

The two bathrooms in their house didn't have bathtubs. Instead, they had a military style shower room with a bath curtain to block the water from spraying all over the place. This was because Claire's father, a drill sergeant, believed that bathtubs made people lazy. Claire never understood how it would, but she didn't argue.

The warm water splashed on Claire's face. It felt wonderful on her sweaty, sticky self. She leaned against the bathroom wall and sighed.

_I wish my life were like this all the time. Warm and cozy, unlike today. _

Claire shivered.

_That stranger was freaking crazy! He tried to punch me when I accidentally ran into him. I guess I did snark on him a little, but that didn't mean he had to give me a bruise! Does he have an ego problem? If he does, it might be worse than Alice's, and that's saying something. _

_Oh, god, speaking of which, what am I going to do about Ponyboy? He's gonna ask so many questions! What am I going to tell him - that Alice I dumped milk on me?_

She blushed.

_That's so embarrassing. I sound like such a pushover. _

_Like you're not. _A dark side of her muttered. _You always do what your daddy says. _

_Father's scary when he gets mad. Besides this is different!_

_So you say..._

Not feeling so good anymore. Claire did her usual routine and got out of the shower. She put on a loose white shirt and blue pajama bottoms and threw herself onto her bed.

_I don't want to go to school. _Claire thought. P.E. was after lunch and that meant sitting down and doing nothing. This was because the girls in her class weren't the most motivated people, nor the most competent. They cried over a broken nail for god's sakes! On top of that, her last period was history with Ponyboy...

Aggravated, Claire flung the blanket over her head. _Why did this have to happen? _

The blanket covered the light coming from the sun, turning the world black. Claire relaxed. She loved darkness, it was always so comforting. It reminded her of nights in the countryside, where there were no street lamps illuminating the street. She had loved it there...

Soon, she nodded off.

XXX

"Ponyboy, your girlfriend is one tuff gal." Two-bit stage whispered to Ponyboy.

Dallas, who had regained his breath, glared at Two-bit.

Two-bit stared back innocently.

"She ain't my girlfriend, she's a school friend." Ponyboy muttered.

Two-bit ruffled Ponyboy's hair. "Whatever you say, kid."

Ponyboy rolled his eyes. He'd known Claire since high school started (three months ago) and he hadn't felt anything for her. He could tell that she didn't either. They were just school friends with a lot of courses together. But, of course, once Two-bit got started on something, he wouldn't let it go. It was going to be a long week.

Dally, whose anger was rising the more he thought about the girl and her attitude snarled, "When I find her, she's dead. Bitch, talkin to me like that." Suddenly, Dally's eyes met Ponyboy's. His ice blue eyes gleamed. "Where can I find her?" He demanded.

Silence greeted him.

"You deaf? Where can I find her?" Dally demanded again.

Ponyboy was in a dilemma. Dally was a part of his gang and he was slightly (really) scared of the guy. But Claire had been nothing but nice to him in school. Not to mention, she was a girl. (Though she was able to beat Dally.)

Thankfully at that moment, Evie decided to interfere.

"Nice to know Winston's such a man, beating up little girls. I know Sylvia would love to hear all about it." Evie said.

"Shut it." Dallas snapped.

Evie made a zipping motion in front of her mouth then gave Dallas the finger.

A second, then two and Dally stood up, stalking towards Evie. Steam was literally coming out of his ears. "You'd better not spread the word around, broad. You spread it and I won't even care you're a woman, I'll beat your face in. Got it?"

Evie's hand shook, but her face didn't change. She nodded. Though Dallas was one of the lowest of the low, she knew that he had never hit a woman, not even Sylvia, his current ex-girlfriend, and she was a bitch.

Dally gave a glare to the other greasers. "You better not tell anyone either. I don't have nothing against beating you."

Ponyboy nodded hastily, glad Dally had forgotten about his initial question. Steve nodded. Two-bit arched an eyebrow.

"Want a fight Matthews?" Dally growled.

"Nah, I want to enjoy the sunshine. Though I wonder what Shepard will think of this…"

Dally took a step closer to Two-bit. "Matthews."

Two-bit held up two hands. "Alright. I won't tell anyone. But you owe me a beer."

Two-bit was taller and buffer than Dally. But Dally was smaller and faster. They both knew that if they fought, both of them would be pretty sore after. And Dally wouldn't pull any blades because Two-bit was a part of his gang.

"Fine." Dally spat. Then turned around and left. He needed to find more information and get drunk.

When they couldn't see Dally anymore, Two-bit said, "That sonofagon, thought he was gonna thump me right then and there."

"Then don't be a wise-ass." Steve said.

"You're girlfriend seemed plenty to me."

"Unlike you, my girl knows how to set him off and get away with it" Steve said and reached for his girlfriend.

Evie pushed his hand away and slapped him so fast she could have killed a paranoid fly. "Don't 'my girl' me. I was real scared there and you didn't do anything!" She stormed away.

"Evie!" Steve shouted and chased after her.

"Whoop cha!" Two-bit made a whipping motion. Steve caught it and gave him the death glare. He also gave one to Pony as well.

_Great, _Ponyboy thought, _Now I'm a tag-along kid and his girlfriend chaser. He's gonna hate me forever. _

Two-bit grinned. This year was beginning to get interesting.

XXX

"Thump! Thump!" Small rocks bounced against the window.

Claire was startled awake.

"Ya there Chad?" a boy shouted from below.

Claire recognized that voice anywhere. "Curly?" She shouted and fumbled her way to the window, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Sure enough, Curly Shepard stood below her house, a small scar across his face illuminated by the street lamps.

"One an' only!"

Then she remembered, the previous events rushing into her brain.

_Oh shit. It's eight o'clock! That means I skipped class. Father's going to kill me… _

_Fuck it, I'm doomed anyway, so why not prolong whatever's going to happen to me?_

"Give me a second, I just woke up!" She shouted and pushed down the surge of worried feelings. She was going to have fun before the execution began.

She rushed into the bathroom, squeezed a liberal amount of grease in her hands and attacked her hair. In seconds, her hair was slicked back and it looked as if someone had dipped her in a bucket full of lard.

She then threw off her clothes and grabbed a pair of jeans, a chest binder and a black shirt. She put them on in record time.

"Get out of the way!" She shouted, and opened the window fully. She slipped through and jumped.

"Fuck." She heard Curly shout. She didn't care though, the ground was rushing up to greet her. Preparing for the impact, she bent her legs slightly and pointed her toes so that the front of the foot would touch down first. Landing on her heels directly could give her a broken kneecap or even worse, a broken ankle. Ankles took forever to heal.

Gracefully, she landed, a cloud of dust forming around her from the impact.

"Hey Curly." She said, grinning.

"Geezus almighty, you're crazy man."

"Get used to it. You saw me do this at least twenty times, and I'm not gonna stop. And it's only the second floor, I bet you could do it too." She retorted. Curly was only one year older than her and judging by the state of his body he could if he put his mind to it.

"I ain't crazy like you. Don't want to break my knees."

She laughed, the sound ringing in the silent background. Her friend was such a scardy cat sometimes.

She ran forwards with Curly jogging behind her.

"We going to your place?" She questioned.

Curly nodded. "There ain't anything to do at yours. Sides, I think I heard Tim say something about a rumble."

After a minute or two, they slowed to a walk.

Curly grinned and took out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one, breathed it in, and blew out. "Want one?"

Chad frowned in distaste. "No."

Curly smirked. "You're such a girl sometimes."

_Don't I know it. _Chad thought.

"It's a cancer stick. The stuff from the cigarette goes into your lungs, kills the little hairs, and turns your lungs black. It's gonna make you die early! Not to mention the disgusting plaque and bad breath you'll have. If somebody who didn't smoke tried kissing you right now, it would feel as if they were licking an ashtray."

Curly lifted an eyebrow. He sucked the cigarette in deeply and breathed out and repeated the motion rapidly.

Chad punched Curly. The guy was just being an asshole. Curly punched her back. Chad was more than pissed off from the events earlier and if Curly wanted a fight, she'd give him one. She needed to let out some steam anyway. She readied herself to launch another punch. But before she could, Curly held up a hand.

"Y'know, most greasers smoke cause it calms them down."

Chad nodded. It was because cigarettes had nicotine in them that made people feel lightheaded and a little euphoric. She'd tried one before, but she hadn't liked it. It agitated her throat too much.

"I smoke to die." Curly grinned, a strange distant look on his face. Chad recognized it as the look he got right before he did something stupid, like the time he took on three Brumley boys at once.

A heavy feeling settled in her gut. Annoyed, she ripped the cigarette out of Curly's mouth, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it, imagining that Alice's face was on it. "Then, jump out of a window. You're not going to die smoking in front of me."

Curly's face transformed into one of surprise. But it was so fast that Chad almost thought it hadn't been there, almost.

"You owe me a cigarette." Curly said in an annoyed tone. Chad noted that he'd put away his smokes and his lighter. She hid a smile.

"Anything new?" Chad asked.

"Angel's tryin to date Rob." Curly said distastefully, kicking dirt with his sneakers. "Fucker better stay away. She's only twelve and he's fifteen. Tim's gonna kill him too if he tries to make a move."

"Isn't Rob in your brother's gang? He should know better than to try and date your sister."

Curly snorted, "The guy ain't too smart. One time when we were slashing the Brumly gang's tires, his switchblade broke and he tried to puncture the thing with the handle."

Chad laughed. "Why'd your sister want him then?"

"She's tryin to get on Tim's nerves. She's angry cause Tim didn't let her drive his car."

Chad winced. She'd met Curly's sister before and she had one big temper. The girl had been screaming bloody murder at Curly for using her shirt as a towel when she'd been introduced.

"What about you?" Curly asked.

Chad thought back to school. There was no way she was telling Curly any of that. "I studied, read books, and slept."

Curly wrinkled his nose. "You're like Ponyboy, always doin school work."

Surprised at the mention of the name, Chad stumbled. "You know Ponyboy?"

"Yup. He's the youngest of the Curtis gang. We hang out sometimes when our brothers are discussing their next fight or something like that. You know him?"

"N-no. I was just surprised at the name. It sounds weird." Chad said quickly. Then winced inwardly. There was no way Curly didn't know she was lying. Her voice had dropped and she could feel her face going bright red.

Curly glanced at Chad. Chad avoided Curly's eyes and changed the subject. "Who's in the Curtis gang?"

There was a momentary pause. Chad thought Curly would question her sudden change in topics, but Curly said,"Ponyboy, his two brothers, Sodapop and Darry, Dally, Two-bit, Steve, and Johnny."

"I've heard of Two-bit before." Chad said. She'd heard about that boy from almost every greaser girl gossip at school. Apparently half the girls either held an immense hatred or harbored a gigantic crush on him.

Curly snorted. "Of course, he's the town drunk. You don't ever catch him sober and when he is, he acts so drunk that he don't look sober."

Chad muffled a girlish giggle. She could imagine the giant hobbling like an old man, trying to decide whether up was down or down was up. "Why would he want to do that?"

"Beats me."

"Oh hey, we're here!" Curly shouted.

They neared a grey house with peeling blue paint. A brown fence, broken in some parts where drunks (or other dangerous people) tried to enter, surrounded the house. Bright lamp lights streamed out of the uncurtained windows.

Skipping over the shorter parts of the fence, they approached the house. Curly slammed the door open. Curly leading, they stepped inside. A mix of smoke, beer, old spice and cleaning detergent wafted into Chad's olfactory system. They weaved their way through the narrow corridor, filled with broken bottles and cans (Chad imagined a whole ecosystem of bugs there, and shuddered discreetly), and went into the living room.

Tim Shepard, the leader of the Shepard gang lay on his back, flipping through a newspaper. Chad could tell he wasn't reading it though, the newspaper was flipped backwards. Angel, Curly's sister was no where to be seen. She was probably over at her friend's house.

Curly opened a cooler. "I think there's cake in here. Tim, can we eat it?"

Tim Shepard put the newspaper down. "Eat half. I'm goin to Buck's."

Curly's face darkened. "You always go to Buck's when I'm home." He muttered.

Chad was sure it wasn't meant for her ears. Curly never talked about his brother unless he wanted to boast about him. So she pretended not to hear.

"You goin to tell me if there's a rumble Tim?" Curly asked. His face cheerful as before.

Tim glanced at Curly, then at Chad.

"Yeah." Tim said and went out, the door slamming behind him.

"I guess we're not goin' to have that rumble." Curly said nonchalantly when Tim left. She could literally see disappointed puppy ears on Curly.

_You don't need his attention to feel happy. _She thought.

_And you don't? Don't you want your father's attention? _Another part of her whispered viciously.

_Shut it. _

An idea popped into her head. She flounced to the sink, pressed her thumb against the nob, angled it just right, and turned it on. Water sprayed all over Curly's face.

Curly's mouth turned into an O.

"What was that for?" Curly shouted.

She stuck her tongue out. "It wasn't me, it was the water sprite!"

Dumbfounded at the stupidest excuse he'd ever heard, Curly said, "That don't exist!" Then Curly had an idea of his own. Smiling evilly, he walked over and shook his head like a wet dog, spraying droplets of water everywhere.

Screeching like a little girl, she screamed, "Watch it!"

Curly laughed. "That's what you get for spraying the mighty Curly!"

She narrowed her eyes. _You're asking for it._ She jumped Curly, hooking her arms around his neck, she put her weight and momentum on the top of his shoulders. "We'll see who's mighty!"

Curly went down with a thump. Immediately, she head locked him and with her other arm, pinned his arms behind his back. "Hollar Uncle or I'm not letting go!" She said gleefully. He wasn't going to get out of this that easily.

Curly tried to struggle but Chad was locked on tight. After a few more seconds, he said, "Fine, Uncle! Geez."

Chad jumped off him. She grinned triumphantly. Chad 2 and Curly 1. "Let's eat that cake"

"Pig." Curly said.

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**Thank you for reading!**


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